Well the moment has finally come.  The mental unemployment clock officially stops the count, and the weekly book of lon segments go on hiatus.  And its a looooong time comin.

 

Sunday-  I still had my niece and nephew overnight so we got up and showered and headed off to.....CHURRRRRCH! Was such an excellent sermon and service.  The day was "Miracle Sunday" so the whole congregation got up and made a HUGE circle around the auditorium.  Some came out and shared blessings in their lives or simple prayer requests.  i started to come forward and tell my tale of unemployment and bein on the verge of financial bankrupcy several times only to have that blessing save me at the 11th hour.  But bein humble i declined to speak and let the service continue on.  I did tell the Rev as i was walkin out that id be leavin for boot camp and gone for a few months.  He said they'll definitely be prayin for me, i thought thanx i need as many as i can get lol.  My mom and siter were absent from service but my mom met us at Famous Dave's on S. Hill for one last luncheon together for awhile.  Was a great time.  Came home and me and my niece decided we were gonna install the screen door I had bought.  Well that was mistake #1.  The door i had bought was 32x81 and i needed a 36x81!  So we packaged it back up and went back to Lowes to exchange.  Back home we start puttin it all together and endup before the night was over goin back to the store 2 more times!  need a wood shim, need a hacksaw cause my jigsaw stopped workin on me.  By that time wifey took the kids home cause day turned into night and they had to get back home for school so i was on my own tryin to get the screen screwed to the door and lemme tell ya it was quite a task.  night turned into midnight and soon it was 3am.  No lie.  The storm/screen door installed after some minor alterations, and new rubber door bottoms to main front door and garage entry door i went to bed feelin certain no bugs and spiders will be invadin through the front entryway door anymore!

 

Monday- Started out early.  The day before the trustee president had called me and said he forgot to snag me after church cause i had escaped so quickly.  He wanted me to move the computers in the computer room of the church into the library.  I agreed no problem so after droppin Tamia off at school Marcus and I headed up to the church and got that task knocked out lickity split.  From there did a lil banking and called in to recruiter to assure i had all i was gonna need and the time to report in.  He advised 1300 Tuesday which caught me off guard, i was expecting it to be 1600ish. He told me i had to take another piss test and there were some others goin up there too so we'd be goin up wit them.  Told'em aight and went home to do a final load of laundry and chores so nothin's really left that wifey need worry bout.  Watched some MSNBC and cleaned off some shows that id no longer be able to watch.  Eventually it came time to get Tamia one last time so walked over and picked her up and as we walked home assured she understood that tmrw would be the last day id pick her up and drop her off at school for awhile and that i'd be gone for a couple months and not at home at all.  It seemed to understand what i was tellin her so i felt a lil better about the talk.  Played a last game of Civilization and also sat around the dining room table for the last supper.  Played Civilization a lil more then headed up to Kent to return Lil Momma's treadmill i had borrowed to get in shape for bootcamp.  Said my goodbyes to her, my good friend Teeeeeeeeee (lol) and Cake and came back home.  Shaved all my facial hair for the 1st time in over a decade.  Least amount id ever had was a mustache when i worked for safeway as a p/t job in 2000/2001. since ive always had a goatee and before safeway i did as well.  Now ive lost major years off my appearance. 

 

Tuesday-  The season finale is finally here.  Was exhausted bein up again till 3am and was just goin to bed right as wifey's alarm was goin off.  Dont even remember her leavin i was OUT.  Got Tamia ready for school one last time and drove her to school (too tired to walk) Kissed her goodbye and tears started to well up but fought'em back successfully.  Its been my duty since she STARTED school to take her to school every morning and pick her up.  Now i have to relinquish the role of bein full-time dad.  Came back home and slowly started piecin the few things i will get to bring together and all documentation necessary.  Paid off the balance of my NRA life membership so now im an NRA-4-Lifer! Fielded txts and calls all day makin sure i have addresses and emails written.  Likely wont be makin calls cause i have a 650min phonecard that needs to last 8wks so will be savin that to call home .  Now that its  1243 im headin to the recruiters office. 

 

(Hours Later @ Seatac Airport waiting for flight on Wednesday but updating on rest of Tuesday) So I went up to the recruiters office and with 3 other shippers we went up to the MEPS facility in Seattle to get more paperwork done.  They said it'd only take 30-45min... yeah well 2hrs later!  I ended up wit a killer headache.  Took us back to the Clarion Hotel in Seatac to check us in.  I opted to ride back home with the recruiter as i wasnt bout to stay in the hotel at 6pm when i could easily be home with my family for another few hours.  Wifey got me from the recruiters office and i went home and tried to eat somethin to get ride of headache. Popped a few pills and catnapped on the couch wit wifey.  Come 8ish got up and took a final shower and changed clothes to what i was gonna ship in and she took me back to the Hotel.  Watched a lil tv wit my roommate before off to sleep round midnight.

 

Wednesday-  Up at 0430 to get dressed have coffee and eat breakfast.  Took the bus back to MEPS for more processing and lectures and TV.  Come 0900 we swore in with my wifey and parents present.  Took alot of pics lol  Bein official we got the boarding passes and rules of conduct lecture.  They made me TEAM LEADER!!! YES!!! Brownie points already bein in charge of 6 others total from then to time we are at boot camp.  So right now i type you from the USO lounge of Seatac airport as we wait for our flight to Chicago/O'Hare where i will be officially offline.  Thought id update one last time as to the happenings!  Ill ttyl Boot Camp is over Dec 10th. Weekend off maybe ill get to come home then.  Gotta let another use the computer now! Bye all and thanx for your support!

Only one more chapter left before the season finale!

 

Sunday-  In an effort to start a last minute streak....Churrrrch!  It was Grandparents day so the Rev asked all the Grandparents to stand.  My mom wasnt there but my dad was up topside where the Rev sits so he was the last to go introducin his brood of Grandchidlin lol  My sister wasnt there nor my mom so im sittin next to my 2 kids as well as my sisters 2 outta 3 (my youngest nephew is still in Florida) So i was concerned the church would think they were all mine ha ha ha.  After church they had a luncheon so we all went back to the dining hall for a nice lunch with my dad.  Talked to him a lil about my deployment date and he told me somethin that i sure hope is true.  He advised that before A-school they let you come home for a week before goin off that that means i "could" if the dates line up be home for the week of thanksgiving before comin back.  Then if i have the leave, come back for Christmas.  That'd be a nice relief of anxiety and be able to see everybody.  That second wind to get your mind back refocused.  Came home and worked on the PC a lil, watchin tv wit wifey.  Decided to take it easy runnin since body got a pretty good workout on tha Cane for 11hrs the day before.  So i ran a mile but focused more on 7mph and if needin a wind down to 6mph, no walkin.  Clocked it round 9:30 before i felt it in my lower back so called it off so as not to injure anything.  Showered and dinner wit family after watchin my new favorite show that im fashionably late wit jumpin into: Daily Show w/Jon Stewart. Watched some tivo'd shows w/wifey before in-laws showed up droppin her off.  Finished watchin UFC fight, upstairs to watch Big Brother, then True Blood, a new HBO drama (pretty steamy sex scenes!!) Off to bed.

 

Monday- Up after a good night's sleep.  1st things first got on the phone to get wifey's blackberry ordered so it would be here in timely manner and ready for her to take over all bills.  Im gettin her the Blackberry Curve, like i have, but gettin her the Crimson Red one.  Got Tamia up and ready for school then walked her over w/Marcus then back home.  Spent the better part of the day tryin to hammer down a daycare facility for my kids since in 9 days ill no longer be able to watch'em fulltime :(.  I struck out for the most part, only finding 2 local facilities that could take'em both.  Went back and got Tamia and watched a lil tv till wifey came home.  Had a trustee mtg to attend so headed up there only to find we didnt have enough body's to HOLD the mtg.  So i ended up helpin to move the food bank to a new room.  Took off and headed up north to get the Cane all secured from the outing on Saturday.  Hung out with Cake a lil bit continuing on the farewell tour since the ones obviously wantin to hang wit me before i leave seem to be the only ones contactin me and comin to the forefront to make it happen.  Came home watched a lil tv and off to bed, without my nosering as its officially been taken out.... for good.

 

Tuesday- Got Tamia off to school and back to the PC typin up more instructions for wifey in my absence of billpay passwords, etc.  Watched Obama's news conference while playin wit Marcus for a bit. Started to fall asleep and heard a short knock on the door.  Twas wifey's cellphone onscene just that quick.  So plugged it in to charge so she could play wit it upon her arrival home.  Feelin a brief sense of motivation i jumped up and did a mile on he treadmil at 7mph in bout 9min.  Runnin outta time i ran upstairs to shower and grabbed my son and race walked to the school to get Tamia. Back home we watched a lil tv and i got a surprise phonecall from my gurl who i aint talked to in ages, Karen-ness!  We talked for a good while catchin up since she hadnt caught word i enlisted.  Gettin off the phone wit her and upon wifeys arrival, we went on up to a local daycare facilty that i had found the day before to get a feel of what its about and if its the place for our kids.  We felt comfortable there and liked the fact that it is a Christian based facility so we put a deposit down to start them the day of my deployment.  Went to t-mobile store to get a cover for wifey's blackberry and home to watch tivo'd shows while helpin her officially move in to her new phone.  Ended up stayin up till 3am gettin all pics and videos onto my blackberry and battlin her 8gb card which was throwin me problems just as mine previously did.

 

Wednesday- Up and got Tamia to school no prob.  Was gonna be a lil different of a day since it was fair day so she got out at 1130.  Filled out their childcare paperwork and walked back to get her from school and home to feed'em lunch.  Watched a lot of tv and a lil web surf'n then checked the mail to find the next unemployment "own up or pay up" letter.  Smiled at it like noooo need, im outta here in 7 days so you can keep your mtg.  Ill call'em friday and advise im shippin out next week when the mtg is to take place so lets not bother.  Chilled round the house gettin all my pics finally loaded and video clips on my phone then lounged watchin msnbc till wifey came home.  Showered up and headed up to Olive Garden to celebrate my dad's 52nd birthday.  Was a lot of fun socializin wit'em.  Its rare you get us all together anymore and even still my sister's youngest wasnt there so we still werent the complete Harris clan.  After an hour of socializin and singin happy birthday to my dad wit the lil cupcake thing they gave'em lol we went our separate ways and headed up to Family Christian store as i had seen before they actually had a Sailor's Bible for $19.97 that i called to confirm they had in stock.  They had a hard time locatin it to which i ended up findin on my own.  They have a police officer, fireman, sailors, as well as other military variations.  I had a 25% of coupon so i snagged a couple other figurines that i collect from time to time  (these two a black Moses and a darker skinned Jesus carryin the cross.) Sorry no blonde haired blue-eyed white Jesus in this house!  We know by historic accounts that bulls**t aint true!  Came back home and settled in watchin a lil tv wit wifey before turnin in for the night exhausted.

 

Thursday- Felt very tired when i woke up so had a lil of a cold start but got Tamia off to school on time.  As i turned from the front door my neighbor i usually see in passing but never talked to was comin out the door with her lil kid so i waited for her and we walked home together stroller and stroller lol  Geez ill be glad when this Mr. Mom phase is over next week.  It was really nice talkin to her cause it started wit Marcus and how she seen he's growin so quick then she said she noticed the Obama sign in our bay window.  I told'em yezzur i been down wit'em since day 1 and read both his books and watch MSNBC alll day everyday.  She chuckled and said she did too as well as CNN and she was an Obama supporter too.  She told me she was very concerned about women and Palin and they'd fall for McCains trick to which i smiled cause it was nice to finally hear an informed woman say exactly what ive been tryin to say to others.  McCain is usin Palin to distract the nation as if its Obama vs Palin in this election to keep the eyes off his record an how anti-woman (even anti-veteran) his record shows.  But ridin off the energy that Palin injected into their party women have yet to research and realize you put McCain in office you settin women BACK.  Palin would be VP she has no policy power she's just sittin there in case McCain croaks!  In the mean time the economy dont change cause McCain voted w/Bush 90% of the time!  Partin ways after a good talk came back in and caught up on the 9/11 coverage on the networks and fielded some calls.  Feelin a slight burst of ambition jumped on the treadmil up'n it to 8mph this time and runnin a mile before jumpin off right as wifey was walkin in the door.  Showered and had dinner w/fam then watched tv with wifey before off to bed.

 

Friday- Day got off to a start early.  Got Tamia dropped off, this time drivin vs walkin.  Went to Lowe's to get some new weather strips for the doors then went to meet the recruiter for a final sit down before i leave.  From there went up to Federal Way to get my kids medical records for their daycare.  Back to S. Hill to Costco to get the house stocked up on food and items wifey would be needin in my absence.  Took off and continued the farewell tour droppin in on one of my longtime friends Manda Panda at her job and sittin and talkin wit her and her mom for awhile.  Got home just as the garbage truck was in the neighborhood so ran around sprintin dumpin garbage to get it curbside.  Mowed the lawn after puttin away the food and my son down for a nap and spray treated it to kill the dandelion field as the HOA president sent me an email the day before sayin it needed to be done.  I replied basically I aint got time to be concerned with your concern over dandelions so just sent it in the mail.  But today after doin it i sent another email wit the basic attitude of "f" off its done and im bein deployed till next May and my wifey need not be worried wit your concerns over weeds so dont bother with a letter.  Called unemp about their own up or pay up letter  to advise them im leavin on weds so wont be makin their lil interview.  Off to get Tamia then back to watch some shows and play a round of Civilization for the 1st time in a couple weeks before goin to sign the papers to get all debt consolidated before i leave.  Watched tv wit wifey and before goin go bed moved my new figurines into new positions around the house.  The figurine of Moses i actually put on the entryway ledge that can be seen as you climb the stairs so lookin up it gives you the feel of standin beneath Moses as he called out the the people the 10 commandments.

 

Saturday- Wifey had a hair appt so i loitered wit the the kids for awhile before it was time for choir practice.  Gettin there i talked to my dad a lil and we all had pizza.  From there we took my niece and nephew back home wit us (wifey showed up after her hair was done) after stoppin by T-mobile and Target.  Funny moment was when me and my dad told my nephew to get us a cart and meet us back at the location where we stood.  Didnt take but a few minutes and heard a page over the intercom.  "Attention Target customers, would Lonnie pleasure come to customer  service,  Lonnie, please come to customer service"  We already knew who it was.  Wifey was just walkin in as we were approachin the desk so she retrieved my nephew who was in tears.  We got a good chuckle outta it but he was noooot happy lol.  Ended up goin to Famous Footwear to get my kids some new shoes then split and went home.  Time for lets make a deal!  Nephew wanted to play the Wii so negotiated 1hr of exclusive play time if he mowed my backyard to which he agreed.  My niece finding there was a deal made then negotiated pullin the thornbushes up that always grow next to the patio for baskin robbins ice cream.  I helped her out a lil and as we worked we found a garter snake sliterin around!  Probably the same one i had spotted before.  This time i snatched it up and put it in a bucket for our viewing pleasure.  Even my huntin dogs Twinkie and Taylor got a curious up close viewin! (no was not fed to the animals).  We then we moved the party to the front yard as she wanted to wash the cars.  Came back in to shower and eat then left to go to my parents to get their church clothes for the following day.  Stopped at Home Depot to look at their screen doors, not likin what i saw i went to tha Cane to check on her.  Hung out wit my girl lil momma for a bit, she always cracks me up!  Lowes where i bought the screen door i had seen friday then back home.  Feelin motivatied i jumped on the treadmill to which at 8mph i successfully for the 1st time completed the 1.5mi in 13min flat!  30sec to spare for the deadline!  I was elated!  now i feel i can truly do it!  drenched in sweat, up to shower and finish gettin all daycare paperwork filled out.

 

Tune in Tuesdsay 9/16 for the Season Finale of the Book of Lon, as i leave Weds 9/17 and will be away from the internet so unable to post updates for 8wks.

Sunday- Well you aint seen this in the last few chapters but.... CHURRRRCH lol.  Ive been slippin on the pimpin and havent gone since our miscarriage, but finally picked myself up from my bootstraps even if i dont have any, cause im on my own! (excerpt from Obama's speech last thursday)  It was preeeeetty quiet there since it was 5th sunday thats the week most are notorious for skippin church but it happens to be the day i return, go figure huh?  Pretty good sermon, from there we wet to the fruit store to stock up on our produce.  Home from there to relax a lil since we were only with 1 child.  Ended up all takin a nap after our arby's lunch  Woke up and feelin a lil refreshed and motivated i jumped up and got my run on.  Like yesterday i did the full 13min timelimit i have all runnin at 6mph and clocked a distance of 1.3miles straight runnin.  When i weighed in the night before i was estatic to find ive lost ALL the weight i gained in the now 31 weeks ive been unemployed and am back to 160!  Now that im runnin daily surely the rest of the weight will continue to drop off and im sure the rest will fall off while im away in job training.  The BMI says i have to be no more than 148lbs for my height (5'6") to be deemed normal weight so im lookin to get the weight down even further.  Jumped up into the shower and got ready to head up to my parents since my mom asked to keep my son as well as Tamia.  We convoy up north via Best Buy where i purchased an 8gb MicroSD card for my Blackberry as ive officially decided to vacate my PDA since i havent even been usin it since i got this Blackberry Curve, so to move all files and pictures i have stored over i up'd the storage size from 1gb to 8gb on my phone (the sd card in my PDA was a 4gb)  Go by tha Cane 1st to check on her the south to my parents.  Talked with them for a bit about me leavin for job training and laughed about the new hot sauce i bought for my dad from the fruit store off River Rd.  They make special hot sauces, jams, salad dressings, even BBQ sauce.  Headed back home from there and watched a ew Tivo'd shows befre workin on the PC a lil bit before off to bed.

 

Monday- Start out very...VERY disorganized.  Woke up to a quiet household as wifey was at work and kids were at my grandparents.  Spent most of the mornin tryin to coordinate wit lil momma a time that would could hang out but that didnt come to fruition.  Did some stuff on the PC got some discs copied and watched some of the hurricane coverage and the lack thereof of RNC coverage (oh sooooooo tragic lol) Text'd Locks to see if she had to work so we could have lunch and patch up the arguing from last week, she was off but had family plans so did the prelim apology over txt msg and left it at that.  Eventually i showered and headed north a lil after 3 to get errands done.  Stopped at Schucks to return the battery charger/air compressor i bought last week for $69 as i saw one in Sunday paper ads @ Joes for $39.  But they ended up price matchin it even though it wasnt the same model nor style so i was coo wit that! Headed to Best Buy from there to return the 8gb Microsd card i bought since i found  one @ Fry's for $39.  Bought the new Game and Lloyd cd's that i had no idea came out and popped that Game cd in as i headed north to frys.  That was craaaaaaaaaaaaazy!  I get 2 microsd cards as ill be gettin wifey a blackberry next week in preps of turnin the finances over to her while im outta town and 1 for me of course.  Got another label maker cartridge and headed toward the line when i realized the line was backed up all the way 3/4 toward teh back of the store! it was a madhouse in there!  As i waited in line i ended up seein the Iron Gym system i just bought off an infomerical for $29! (I paid $57 after s/h and rush shipment on the 28th of Aug)  So i snatched that up and made a note to call and cancel my order asap when they open tmrw. I was in that line so long they know they wrong for havin food snaked through out the line.  I was hungry and they had items id never seen before so outta curiosity had to buy lol.  Chocolate flavored Skittles, Flamin hot Fritos and Lays chips.  Finally got all paid for and headed to the truck STILL tryin to coordinate hangin wit lil momma but it just wasnt gonna happen the gurl is just too much a busy body.  Headed to tha Cane to properly inflate all the tires on the trailer with the air compressor machine and met up wit my mom to sign back over a check she had gotten for me to keep me afloat if i had needed it which since i got the emer unemployment extention that keeps me afloat another 11wks.  Headed on south from there stoppin by office depot to do a lil price comparison shoppin then home finally.  Ate like a dang cow i was so hungry, and scanned all my shows only watchin the political portions and scannin through the hurricane footage since it was outdated by the time i got home.  Worked on vacatin my PDA, but that was givin me problems for a minute cause when formattin the microsd card it went from 7.4gb of avail space down to just 3.4! i was like oh heck no if thats all the space i was gonna get i mine as well just had gotten the 4gb card! But it was a minor flaw, i reformatted and got it back up to 7.4  but not all my pics transferred over.  Put together the Iron Gym and gave it a shot and sho nuff that thing WORKS!  I was hella impressed!  Even wifey gave it a shot before fearing she'd fall lol.  For all of you out there potentially interested in it, it holds up to 300lbs so your weight wont be an issue. Got my run on this time only doin a mile alternatin btwn 6 and 7 mph, clocked in at 9:30.  That was enough for me since i was really pushin myself.  Watched a lil tv and called it a night.

 

Tuesday-  What a whirlwind of a day.  Started out early wit my job lead callin and sayin they wanted me to get up there ASAP and sign paperwork.  Cake had stopped by for a second so said hey to her for a minute then got my kids ready and headed up to my sisters house to drop off my kids.  Met my contact dude up north at Kmart and carpooled up to Seattle.  Got there and started processing the final paperwork.  Some of the Chief guys in there were pretty funny so chopped it up with him while he was doin my paperwork.  Chose my trade which will officially be "Advanced Electronics/Computer Field".  Advised me it comes with a $10k enlistment bonus as well as a $5k bonus for havin an AA degree.  So comin out of bootcamp and trade school ill bank a total of $15k in incentive pay. (thats more than i made in OT at the corrections center all 2007!)  Got all signed and official, took my DEP picture (im startin to talk in more detail now cause its official and done so no one can run interference) and was debriefed on the penalty of goin AWOL and desertion in time of war (death penalty).  Did a brief crash course of stances and was immediately sworn in as a U.S. Navy E3 Sailor.  Took off wit my recruiter after gettin yet another backpack of goodies and headed back to Kent to get my truck.  Up the hill to get my kids then on to the freeway home.  Gave wifey the news while drivin that its t-minus 2wks till im sent off to camp and that all affairs must be squared away then before i leave since i wont be back till possibly christmas if i have enough leave to come back.  Immediately got on the treadmill and ran the 13:30min only gettin 1.37miles, .13mi short of goal.  Showered up, watched some political shows when phone rang.  It was recruiter askin if i could meet'em at a local park the following day to do my military prelim assessment test.  Test? 42 pushups and 50 situps, 2min each, and 1.5mi in 13:30? (base time is 13min but the older you are a lil more time is alloted and i dont know the official time still)  I agree to it and get ready for bed.

 

Wednesday- Tossed and turned for the latter park of the night with the anxiety of the test loomin in my mind. Woke up officially 0600 and got dressed.  "property of us navy" t-shirt, tommy shorts, and firgrove elementary pullover.  I get there round 0630 but no navy guys so im like what the heck?  Txt'd Cake askin if there was another entrance since i had never been to the park since id never been there before.  There was a cop sittin across the street on patrol and im thinkin in my head all i need for him to think is sussub in the park where dumbass women were joggin ALONE. (there were several)  yeah lades, how quick are you to forget we had the South Hill Rapist that struck last year and was never caught that im aware of!  They eventually arrive and we start doin stretches and ish.  I was hopin to do the run 1st to get it knocked out but noooooo we had to do the pushups first (no prob) then the situps (struggled but got'em) now my freakin mid-section is hurtin and its run time!  I sit on the ground stretchin all out and gettin back in the run mode while they were shootin the breeze.  When it was time to start there were 3 of us recruits.  We all started out pacing together, the girl took the lead, i used her to pace, then the guy paced wit me.  Not too far into the job she started to fall back so i took the lead and the guy pacing wit me.  Probably the equiv of 1/2 way around he fell off but i kept my pace cause i aint in this for team morale or friends.  This is my LIFE.  So i kept it movin and made it a full lap around at 6:30min.  Finally needin a break (the trail so many turns/twists uneven pavement and hills, not like runnin the treadmill for 13:30)  I speed walked keepin the momentum and i heard the guy now behind me takin the lead.  Never saw the girl again till it was over.  He stopped a stone throw away from me so i smirked and thought "yeah thats what i thought"  I pick it back up and he hears me comin up on'em so he tries to again pace with me as i was breakin even wit'em that didnt last long though he soon gave up keepin my speed.  i got 1/2 way again and took another breather as i was spent bein on those hills.  But i agreed wit myself after i got over that one hill in the back wooded area i pick it up and not stop till i was at the finish line and thats just what i did, never seein that guy again nor the girl.  I finished around 14min and was SPENT.  one of the recruiters congratulated me and said i passed so i was thankful to hear that specially after he told me at camp its in indoor track so no hills and excessive curves and no wind drag.  So i do have an excellent chance of successfully completing the run w/out issue.  Dizzily drove home (lol) and crashed on the couch while wifey was gettin Tamia ready for her 1st day of school.  The plan was OUT to walk her to school most definitely.  We drove her to school and i let wifey drop her off to class while i sat in the truck w/Marcus.  Came back home and crashed on the couch again wit Marcus and watched some shows.  Ended up talkin wit lil momma for 2hrs before my in-law showed up dumpin off my mother in-laws ish.  He sat for a few and talked a lil before he took off and i went back to doin stuff on laptop gettin stuff handled.  Closed down my long used Biznotpleasure address as it was used for co-workers (now former) and wasnt bein used.  Got it all blown out my Blackberry and FINALLY ate a meal before it was time to get Tamia from school.  Went and picked her up which she was very excited and i was happy for her definitely.  Later that evening when wifey came home that marked the return of the in-law no doubt. (dun dun duuuuun)  Watched the RNC coverage of Palin's speech and to my disgust thereafter went to bed.

 

Thursday-  Had a horrible time sleepin, the anxiety of me leavin so soon preyin on my slumber.  Got up and got the kids ready to walk Tamia to school, decided to test her to see how responsible she is so had her lead me to her classroom, which she did without incident.  Walked back home and chilled doin lil odds and ends responsiblities in preps of turning everything over to wifey in my absence.  Come time to pick up Tamia we walked back over and picked her up then returned home till it was time for wifey to get there as i had a DEPS mtg to attend at the recruiters office.  4pm came and i arrive and their goin through some refresher courses of stuff.  I hop on board as its obvious these people have been doin this for weeks and weeks on in and here i am just now hoppin on board.  I find out i have that mtg and one more before i leave, these other recruits arent leavin till october, even december, and january! i appeared to be the only one literally fast tracked on through.  No qualms wit that at all long as i succeed and not fail.  We practice some steps then march over to the local park.  half march then jog (double time).  Get there, do some stretches then of all things.... they play football.  Im like what the hell?? i have 13 days to go before i leave and ya'll wanna play football? I need to be doin somethin PRODUCTIVE.  Studyin... somethin!  Not knowin what to do i go ahead and act like i care to play the whole time not givin a f**k.  at the line of scrimmage ALWAYS standin out far left side, only defendin when i had to (touch football) and unfortunately bein passed to 3x to which had 1 completion.  1 ball he over threw another flat out failed to recieve (i WATCH football occasionally but i do NOT play it.)  As the game went on and i cared less and less i flat out stopped even runnin just walked it whether offense or defense.  I was absolutely DISGUSTED at the stench of some of those guys to the point i could care less if it was my job to defend you got a pass if you lined up wit me cause i aint touchin your stank a**.  If i EVER smelled like that 1) id avoid whatever it was that caused me to stink so bad or 2) would immediately cut out and shower.  Now call me a ladies man, call me a metrosexual but there is NOTHIN sexy about sweatin and STINKIN as a result.  Now hot and sweaty sex im in! but sweaty and stankin? (dry heavin).  I was so glad when they finally called it a game (i hadnt even broke a sweat lol) we double timed it all the way back to which every jog i apply myself too to keep in shape.  Stayed up wit the lead pack as a pace and was among the top 5 back to the office.  Sat around loitering with their stinch soooo ready to leave till the recruiter had a chance to talk to me.  Cut out and went home to debrief wifey on the day's waste of time events. Watched some tivo'd shows wit her, showered, studied a bit then off to bed.

 

Friday-  Got Tamia to school this time fully activatin the test i initiated the day before.  I walked her to the front door and told her to go straight to class. (to which she did)  Me and Marcus returned home to gather up a few items then took off to head up to tha Cane to get'er ready for a possible final launch the next day.  Picked her up and took her to Chevron and filled up the tank (bout $160)  then towed to my parents house and plugged her in to charge the batteries all day.  Returned home and took care of all the bills needed payin.  Ended up hearin from my homegurl Ellen who i hadnt talked to in AGES!!  She caught wind that i was shippin out so chimed in to say whaddup and give me her support as shes got a lot of military in her family as well.  Watched some tv and catnapped till it was time to get Tamia.  Came home and palled around a lil and did my workout run that yielded me 1.4mi in 13:30, the closest to goal ive been.  Kelitha came home so went up and picked up tha Cane and towed her back to her place of moorage.  Ended up runnin into my girl lil momma so sat and talked wit her for a couple hours.  Part of that farewell tour thats started.  Im gonna miss her, amongst some of you others thats been there for me through these hard 8 months.  Ran into my sister while we were fraternizin but eventually parted ways and returned home to slumber.

 

Saturday-  Woke up round 9ish still lackin good sleep from the anxiety.  We gathered up all the items and lunch etc we'd need and headed on up to tha Cane.  Loaded her up wit all our goodies and all and towed her on up to Lake Washington's Atlantic City launch.  No traffic there just as i like it, so got her put in the water w/out incident.  No sooner do i move the truck and trailer and get all launching prepared i get approached by some broad wantin to launch from the same side of the pier as me.  Now keep in mind, theres 2 piers.  you launch from the left and right of either side.  So that gives you 4 launch pads and that i recall 2 of 4 were taken, 1 rt side and 1 lt side (i was on lt side)  I look at her like, you better get the hell on as when i was pullin up WITH my trailered boat they were off to the side bullsh**in when they couldve already had their gear set and launchin.  So i told her ill be leavin in a few minutes so she'd have to wait.  Slightly irritated but not lettin her spoil my day i continue on wit the launch proceedings.  My transom was bein stubborn and didnt want to lower into the water (has done it before) but eventually did and the engine whirred to life w/out incident.  All prepped we pushed off and reversed from the dock as they were lowerin their boat into the water.  Get out into the water and pull up the bumpers so as not to lose one this trip and initially headed south to Gene Coulon before turnin and headin northward toward I-90 and 520 floating bridges.  This was the 1st time i was able to use tha Cane since i had installed the hydrofoil over her propellor so was gettin a good feel of her handling with this new enhancement and lemme tell you that was a worthy $50.  She turned so sharp i thought i'd capsize at times! and opening up that throttle everywhere we went was between 25-30mph and planed so smooth like cuttin butter wit a knife!  We got up under 520 and headed westbound passin Husky stadium as the game was goin.  Passed by the Seattle Yacht Club and who of course was lyin there waiting... Seattle PD.  Im doin the speed limit in that area as its posted at the bridge 7mph but that dont stop'em at all just like last time,  YOU NEED TO SLOWDOWN YOURE GOIN TO FAST!  I tell'em im doin the 7 like im supposed to! (to which i was even pacing behind 2 other boats in front of me to which if i was speeding they obviously were too) But that didnt stop them from harassing the black man.  He tells me well youre makin too much of a wake you'd be responsible for any damage as a result.  Im like what the HELL do you think a big 23' Bayliner is gonna do? Make lil bubbles like a kid fartin in the tub?!  Im sorry the 5.0L engine has too much power for your lil slip mr. one-time but im within the speed limit and surely within my rights (as he didnt try to detain me or pull me over just basically yelled in passing, literally)  We continue through gettin into elliot bay but continuing westward toward ballard locks.  Upon arrival we pulled off to the side and tied the lines down until it was our turn to enter.  When it was time it was neeeeeeeerve wrecking!  I lost all sense of port/starboard and everything! lol  Ended up tyin up next to another huge yacht right up front!  Another tied up next to us and they closed the gates and without even realizin it they lowered us as the salmon jumped around our boat and out the to Puget Sound we went!  Got out to the no wake zone and open'er up again and headed southbound from Seattle all the way down to South tip of Vashon Island and the inlet into the Port of Tacoma.  Feeling successful in our long journey we turned around and headed back northbound.  Kelitha finally decided to step up to the plate and drive which she hadnt done before.  Drove for a few miles before relinquishing her role feeling successful in her skills lol.  I opened'er up again (as wifey had drove but only bout 18mph vs my 27-30mph) attempting to catch up with a couple cruise ships that just came out of port of seattle but was unsuccessful as wifey needed to pee and couldnt handle my choppy speeding ( minor porpoising as i passed over the waves of the faunteleroy ferry to vashon. )  We eventually got back into the inlet leadin to Ballard Locks but jusssst missed the closing of the locks so had to pull to the side and wait like 30-40min till they reopened for us.  Got in finally and tied down and soon were lifted back into the fresh waters and as the sun was settin even more turned on the nav lights at the bow and crept through from locks to u-dub at 7mph  not gettin through till a cloak of darkness was around use.  Tryin to dump the sewage i opened'er up tryin to cross over lk wa asap to kirkland to the only dump site i was familiar wit.  But it was so dark i couldnt find it!  I checked another spot but wasnt there either! i thoguth for sure i had put it in my gps but apparently not.  Erbody was asleep so im doin allll this by myself and the tank meter startin to dance around E.  (was a fully tank when we started)  By the time i got to I-90 it wasnt dancin round E anymore it was ON E and stayin there lol.  Oh i started praaaaayin then hopin the engine wouldnt cut off, the whole time floorin it still only slowin down to go under the bridges.  Rounded seward park into the homestrech (keep in mind it was full on dark outside since comin out of u-dub.  I pull up and slide right on into the dock, go get the truck and slide tha Cane on'er and crankin her up on there w/out incident wit the powerwinch and was out the water within minutes.  We were out the water round 930pm. Got everything secured and headed on down Rainier to the freeway.  Decidin not to go up Lea Hill anymore wastin gas i got off at Central and up Canyon straight on to the moorage site savin gas and time.  Decidin to clean'er and get everything off at another time we parked her, secured her and headed home via Burger King as we had missed dinner only packin enough for lunch on the boat and a snack.  Crashed after watchin some tv and that was the week at a glance!